You may have seem the cooking show 'My Kitchen Rules' where a group of amateur cooks rotate around each other's houses- and each time one of the cooks hosts a dinner party for the others.

I thought this would be a fun thing to do here in Sydney, but without the competitive factor. The idea is to have fun cooking, eating and trying new foods in a home setting- more fun,  relaxed and cheaper than  restaurant.

The first year 2011 has been very successful with lots of wonderful food shared and friends made.

You do not need to be a good cook , just someone who enjoys cooking (and eating)  for others (and with others) and wants to have a go. The idea is to have some opportunities to learn more about cooking and different foods while meeting new people. So, be confident and brave and have a go at hosting! (and being a great guest)

We do encourage  people to join the group if they are interested in hosting as well as being a guest- of course you can take some time being a guest before being ready to host something- and there are always people willing to help you with that also. You can also start small with hosting another type of food event other than a dinner.

We need hosts to make MKR work and to be able to offer the great MKR experience to more people. 

Hosting need not be scary, a lot of work or lonely. There are always people willing to help a 'host' 

We would like to have at least 1 or more events happening every week. As there are over 100 members each member would only need to host once a year to have 2 or more events every week. 

If you do not have a place that you can host in, then there are members willing to loan you the use of their kitchen and dining room and help you plan the menu and prepare the meal. All you need to be is willing to have a go and then reap the benefits of being involved. You can host a breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner or whatever. 

 We have learnt a lot about what will make MKR successful over the last year so have decided to put some new guidelines in place this year so as to be fair to everyone. 

One of these guidelines is that if you have attended at 2 or more meals and have not yet offered to host or co-host- this means offered or planned to be involved in some way in planning and preparing a meal- then you will get only 2nd peference when it comes to attending your 3 and beyond meal. So, this may mean that if the guest list is full, someone who has offered to host or has actually already hosted, will get on the list before you and you may have to go on the waitlist. 

We also have a new option for wine- this depends on the host .One option is BYO wine, the other is that the host can add an extra cost on to the meal for those that want to drink wine with the meal and then the host provides the wine. We feel that in some cases people may prefer to pay around $10 all up for wine rather than bring their own wine as if they are a single person they may not drink the value of the whole bottle that they have brought of wine over the evening. Also ,the host can choose wines that they think will go best with the food they are preparing. 

So, the idea is that
-You sign up if you are interested in this idea.  As the dinners are in private homes you must have an identifiable photo on your profile before being accepted as a member.  

-Anyone can offer to host a dinner party.( or a lunch, or brunch or BBQ or .........) The host indicates how many guests they can have- depending on how big your house/dining table is. (or the one you are 'borrowing')

CONTACT one  of the organizers IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA AND I CAN HELP SET IT UP ON THE SITE

The success of this meet up depends on people being willing to host, cook and help.

Hosting means initiating an idea for a dinner,.( or a lunch, or brunch or BBQ or .........) asking the organizers to post it on the site for you,  finding a place to have the dinner (does not have to be your own home as there are members willing to ‘lend’ you their kitchen) , planning and cooking the meal and finding people to help you do that.

The vision of the group is that there will be a dinner/dinners .( or a lunch, or brunch or BBQ or .........) being hosted every week all over Sydney with the hosts coming from a large variety of the members. This year dinners have been hosted by a limited numbers of members, who have loved doing it, and will be active again next year, but need help to host if we are to offer the great “My Kitchen Rocks’ experience to more members.

So, in 2012 we will be encouraging more members to try the hosting experience. Contact one of the organizers of the group or past hosts ( e.g.,  Debbie, Adele, Frank, Meg, Eve, Karen, Cynthia) to learn about their experience and what it means to host.

Remember, you can host in someone else’s kitchen and dining room if your place to not suitable- and people will help you.

 So,  please start thinking about being able to host a meal - and contact one of the organizers to start your idea rolling.

-The host indicates the theme or type of food you will cook- and should also indicate the $$ amount you need each guest to contribute to cover costs. This should be fair and reasonable as the idea is to cover costs only. We have been charging $20 for food on average

-You have an option to charge extra for people who want to drink wine- or ask people to bring their own wine.

-Host indicates only the suburb/area/street of the party during the invite phase.

-Members register to attend and there is a waiting list created when the number indicated by the host is reached.

-Host provides a meeting place and time near the dinner address for people to meet at together just before the dinner. For example a bar, pub, coffee shop.  Host will meet the group and esort them to the dinner location. This is so everyone arrives together to provide security for the host and guests.

If the host knows some of the guests they may choose to have one of the guests meet the whole group and then arrive together. As members get to know each other better hosts and guests may develop a different way of arranging arrival.  

There is a feature for organizers where they can email only those going with address details. 

If you are not sure how to manage things on the website contact the leadership team 

-Guests- If you cannot make it after signing up to a dinner, you must update your status to allow for others to join and to make sure the host is not out of pocket